


Two Princes

by islndgurl777



Series: give michael guerin a friend 2k19 (make that friend maria deluca) [9]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 06:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18424785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/islndgurl777/pseuds/islndgurl777
Summary: He doesn’t get the series of texts until he exits the bunker in the late afternoon, and it’s probably good he gets them all at once because the first one might have given him a heart attack on its own.[From: Liz] (1:24 pm): Can you come to the hospital?[From: Liz] (1:28 pm): Sorry, it’s not an emergency. I have some questions I could use your help answering.Which means they’re alien questions, and his body automatically tenses.





	Two Princes

**Author's Note:**

> I've finally written one from my boy's POV! And it was a real bitch, let me tell you. I love Michael Guerin to pieces, so I really hope I'm doing him justice.
> 
> Also, this fic marks 100,000 words I've published on AO3, which is insane. I went almost two years without writing and then I wrote a small thing I wanted to see on the show, and this fandom's reaction blew me the fuck away, so I had to keep at it. So thanks, gentle readers, for helping me reach 100k.
> 
> Unbeta’d. Title from Spin Doctors, because I stan one (1) bi disaster alien cowboy and one (1) functional bi mcsexy doctor and I finally wrote an occasion in which they speak.

He doesn’t get the series of texts until he exits the bunker in the late afternoon, and it’s probably good he gets them all at once because the first one might have given him a heart attack on its own.

 

[From: Liz] (1:24 pm): Can you come to the hospital?

 

[From: Liz] (1:28 pm): Sorry, it’s not an emergency. I have some questions I could use your help answering.

 

Which means they’re alien questions, and his body automatically tenses. 

 

[From: Liz] (1:30 pm): Let me know if you can stop by after I get off at 5. Otherwise I’ll see you tonight at Max’s for dinner at 7.

 

He takes a breath and focuses on relaxing his muscles. She might be a scientist, but she’s worked so hard to protect his family, so there’s no reason for him to jump to an alien vivisection conclusion. “What do you think?” he asks Daisy. She sits down in front of him, eyes serious, and lets out a firm yip. He sighs and looks at the clock in the upper corner of his phone.

 

[To: Liz] (4:37 pm): I’ll be there in 30.

 

She sends him a thumbs-up emoji a minute later.

 

///

 

He drops Daisy off at Max’s and heads to the hospital. The door to her lab is closed, but the lights are on, so he knocks as he opens the door. “What’s up, Ortecho?”

 

Liz and Valenti are standing near a microscope and both look up as he walks in. Michael narrows his eyes, caught off guard. “What the fuck are you doing here, Valenti?”

 

Valenti’s eyebrows shoot up and Liz scowls. “Don’t even start, Michael. He’s here to help with my research.”

 

Michael takes an automatic step back, his breath coming in shorter bursts as his fists clench next to his sides. “No way.”

 

Liz sighs and moves around the counter to stand in front of him. “Michael,” she says softly, looking up into his eyes. She rests her hands gently on his forearms. “I need his help from a medical standpoint, and I need yours from an alien one. Can you work with him just this once without trying to murder him with your words?” After a moment of thought she tilts her head and adds, “Or with your fists?”

 

He crosses his arms over his chest and glances between her and Valenti, who is watching their interaction with a stupid smirk on his face. “What is it you need?”

 

She nods and squeezes his arms in thanks before moving back to the counter next to the microscope. “I want to officially confirm that you can’t catch, carry, or transmit human diseases.” Her eyes are very firmly pointed down at the lab sheets she seems to be unnecessarily rearranging.

 

They’re all silent a moment. Then, “Shouldn’t you have double-checked that  _ before _ you hopped into bed with an alien?” Valenti says mildly.

 

Liz glares and curses at him in Spanish. “Maybe, but better late than never, right?”

 

Michael agrees with Valenti’s comment but refuses to say so on principle. He steps forward and says, “We’ve never displayed symptoms of human diseases, and I checked up on what I could using the bio lab back in high school, but it’s not a bad idea to take a closer look.”

 

Liz smiles and sends him a grateful nod and he immediately feels superior to Valenti for not stooping to his level and embarrassing her about this. “Thank you,” she says. “Kyle, can you pull a blood sample from him while I set this up?”

 

Michael’s eyebrows wrinkle. “What happened to my other samples?” he asks while he rolls up his sleeve. He thought he’d left plenty when they’d been working on the cure for Isobel together. 

 

Liz is focused on the machine in front of her as she says, “I’ve been incinerating all alien samples immediately after I use them, so no one else can find them and use them against you.” 

 

Michael’s eyes widen in surprise, touched that she’d done something so thoughtful, and angry at himself for not thinking of it first. It had been pretty dangerous to leave samples of his blood in her lab, even if she was using them to cure his sister. He shakes his head to clear it when Valenti moves in with his needle and asks, “You want to take a seat first?”

 

Michael nods and clears the unexpected lump in his throat. “Yeah.”

 

Valenti is gentle, cleaning the site and inserting the needle quickly. “How many do you think we need?” he asks them both.

 

“Just take two for now,” Michael answers for Liz, who is distracted setting up a program on her computer. “If you need any more, you can take it later.”

 

Valenti nods and takes the two vials, placing a round bandage adorned with Captain America’s shield on the puncture site when he’s done. “You seem the Cap type,” he says with a shrug and half smile.

 

Michael glowers at him but doesn’t say anything in return. What is he supposed to say to that anyway? What’s Valenti’s angle here? Valenti sighs and heads over to hand the samples to Liz.

 

They all work in a somewhat comfortable silence for over an hour before Liz’s phone buzzes with an incoming message and she looks at her watch. “That will be Max.” She reads the message and says, “I need to call him to tell him we’re going to be late. Are you coming tonight, Kyle?”

 

Michael looks at Valenti in confusion, which amplifies when Kyle fidgets and shakes his head. “No, not tonight. Thanks, though.”

 

Liz looks like she wants to say something, but she only shrugs. As she’s heading out the door she points between the two of them and says, “Don’t kill each other while I’m gone.”

 

“No promises!” Michael calls out as the door closes behind her. He turns back to the computer, where he’s looking over the side-by-side comparison of human and alien cells.

 

She’s only gone thirty seconds when Valenti breaks the silence. “Can I ask you something?”

 

Michael’s jaw clenches. “Go for it,” he says roughly, not looking away from the computer.

 

He can feel Valenti’s eyes studying him before he says, “I’m trying to remember what I did, but I honestly can’t. I mean, I know I was possibly the biggest dick of all time in high school, but I can’t remember ever interacting with you at all when we were kids.”

 

Michael turns away from the screen. Valenti is tapping his fingers on his thigh, looking at him quizzically. “We didn’t. Interact,” he clarifies when Valenti narrows his eyes in question.

 

Valenti looks even more confused. “Then what’s with the ‘rot in hell’ attitude? It’s not like I was a dick to Max or Isobel either.”

 

Michael opens his mouth to reply, but the words get caught in his chest. Even after all these years, he still can’t say it to someone who doesn’t already know. Not without Alex’s permission, because he had always been the one who insisted on secrecy. And oh, it burns Michael to know he can’t chew Valenti out for hurting Alex back then because it could expose their past relationship. But he really, really wishes he could.

 

Still, Valenti is looking for the reason Michael’s always such a dick to him, and he’s not quite sure what to say when the truth isn’t an option, especially when Valenti’s been nothing but helpful since Liz brought him in on the secret. He opens his mouth to try again, hoping the words will just come to him in the moment, but Valenti’s expression clears all of a sudden and he says softly, “Oh.”

 

Now Michael’s confused, because he truly can’t think of any reason Valenti might have thought up on his own. What he’d said had been true: Valenti had never bothered to target him in school, even though a homeless orphan would have been easy pickings for a bully like him. Then again, he’d had to be sneaky about his true nature lest Liz find out and dump him. Perhaps if he’d worried less about how Liz saw him, he would have targeted Michael as well.

 

Valenti clears his throat and says, “I’ve apologized to Alex for how I treated him in high school.”

 

Michael’s heart seizes in momentary panic before he swallows and says, as nonchalantly as he can, “Okay?” Why the hell would Valenti bring up Alex like that?

 

Valenti nods and explains, “Not that an apology makes everything all better, and not that I expect forgiveness for how I acted. I just wanted you to know, I’m a different person now, a better one, I like to think, and I am truly sorry for what a jackass I was when I was younger. I hope you can see that and forgive me eventually.”

 

Michael narrows his eyes, thoughts rushing a million miles an hour through his head. What did Valenti know? Had Alex told him? Why would he? Why did Valenti care if he hated him? Unable to voice any of these thoughts, he finally says, “What happened to not expecting my forgiveness?”

 

Valenti’s lips quirk and he shakes his head. “I said I didn’t  _ expect _ your forgiveness, Guerin, not that I don’t want it.” They both digest that for a moment and Valenti waits for Michael’s shrug of acknowledgement before he continues. “We’re kind of in a closed group of friends right now, and it wouldn’t suck if we kept things as drama-free as possible.”

 

Michael sighs and grudgingly agrees. “I guess, for the time being, I could call a cease-fire on the blatant hostilities.” Valenti starts to smile, so Michael shakes his head and adds, “That doesn’t mean I forgive you.”

 

Valenti suppresses his grin and shakes his head, hands held up in surrender. “I get it, no worries. I’d probably hate you too, if you were an asshole to Liz in high school.”

 

Michael opens his mouth to point out that it’s different because he still has feelings for Alex, but rethinks that because he’s still not acknowledging his feelings for Alex to someone not officially in the know, let alone to Valenti. But then, he sees the way Valenti’s eyes light up when Liz comes back into the room and he thinks it might not be that different.

 

“Good, you’re both still alive,” she says. “Dinner should be ready around 7:30, so that gives us about a half hour to wrap up here. Are you sure you don’t want to come?” she asks Valenti, tilting her head as she looks up at him. “Max says he’s making more than enough and you’re welcome to join us.”

 

Michael watches the tips of Valenti’s ears turn red as he shakes his head . “No, no. I’ll be alright. I’ve got plenty of leftovers at home.”

 

“Are you sure?” Liz asks, concern furrowing her brow as she steps closer to him.

 

Valenti sways backwards and Michael lets out a chuckle, both at the situation and at having finally figured out what’s going on with him. Valenti flips off Michael out of Liz’s sightline and says, “I’m sure, Liz. Tell Max thanks for the invitation though.”

 

“Okay,” she says, tone low and a little suspicious.

 

Valenti pulls out his phone and says, “Damn, it’s getting late. I’d better go. Let me know what your results are tomorrow?” And he barely gives Liz enough time to say goodbye before he leaves.

 

She walks over to Michael and says, hands on her hips, “What did you say to him?”

 

He shrugs, trying his best to control the grin that wants to break free. “Nothing, Ortecho. We actually cleared some air. Pretty sure that suave exit was all on you.”

 

She shakes her head and elbows him as she looks over the data they’ve collected over the past hour. “What do you mean?”

 

“You’re not ready for it, Liz, and trust me, neither is Max,” he says sagely, still unable to suppress his grin. He’s actually curious to find out what Max’s input to the situation will be, but his brother’s always been repressed, so he thinks it will take a while before he comes to him about it.

 

“You’re being weirdly evasive,” she complains, printing out their results and then deleting all the records from her computer.

 

“When you’ve figured out what’s going on, I’d be happy to have that conversation with you, but I am not getting involved when it will be so much more entertaining to watch it unfold organically.”

 

She glares and huffs out a breath. “Fine. Don’t tell me.” She fumes all the way out to his truck, where she gets in with the explanation, “My car’s at Max’s, he dropped me off this morning.” She continues to give him the silent treatment while she looks over the data they’d collected, muttering questions and answers to herself as they drive.

 

At one point she mutters something about ‘alien sperm’. He brakes hard, startled, but she just throws out a hand on the dash to brace herself and keeps reading, oblivious. He decides if she wants a sample of that one, she’s going to have to ask Max.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I high-key ship Max x Liz, but I also low-key ship a Max x Liz x Kyle triad, and that sort of accidentally slipped in here. Oops.
> 
> I'm on tumblr, blogging about approximately 8 million different topics, so if you're into that sort of thing, you can find me there under the same name!


End file.
